Remember that popular TV game show, To Tell the
Truth? That was the program that would put three petite women on the
stage – one a real-life alligator wrestler and the two others impostors.
The contestants would then try to outwit the celebrity guests.

It’s now 2004 and Americans are the guests
on a remake of To Tell the Truth. The object of the game is to answer
the question, What is the real face of feminism?

Many people think of feminism as a movement
that promotes gender equality and opportunity. And for many years,
I counted myself in that group. To deny women the opportunity to
get a good education and pursue a career -- that seemed abhorrent
and contrary to the American Dream.

Then the voices of the skeptics demanded a
hearing.

As early as 1972, Phyllis Schlafly posed this
question: “The claim that American women are downtrodden and unfairly
treated is the fraud of the century…Why should we lower ourselves
to ‘equal rights’ when we already have the status of special privilege?”
That editorial launched the movement that eventually defeated the
Equal Rights Amendment.

But I still counted myself a true believer.

In a 1992 article in the Washington Post,
Sally Quinn compared the leaders of NOW to the apparatchiks of the
Communist Party in the former Soviet Union. She concluded, “many
women have come to see the feminist movement as anti-male, anti-child,
anti-family, anti-feminine.”

That broadside made me blink.

Two years later Christina Hoff Sommers released
her stunning expose’, Who Stole Feminism? Ms. Sommers methodically
dissected and debunked the feminist claims about domestic violence,
rape, and women’s health.

That was more than I could ignore, so I began
to do my own research. I went to my local library, combed through
government reports, and surfed the internet. I soon learned that
Schlafly, Quinn, and Sommers were right: the feminist claims were
actually Ms.-Information.

Around that time, millions of women began
to reach the same conclusion. In 1992, a Gallup poll found that
33% of American women considered themselves to be feminist (pdf
file). But seven years later, the Gallup poll reported
that number had plummeted to 26%. And one CBS poll noted that 22%
of women said that being called a feminist would be an “insult.”

But substitute the word “women” for “feminist,”
and you come up with a very different story. A 1998 Pew survey found
that 67% of females (and 66% of males) were favorable to the “women’s
movement.”

So a large majority of American women do not
consider themselves to be feminists, but still support the women’s
movement. An obvious and startling conclusion emerges: Women no
longer believe that feminism represents their interests or needs.

A recent article
in the National Review paints a similar picture of waning
feminist influence. Feminist thinking holds that a bride taking
her husband’s last name “signifies the loss of her very existence
as a person under the law,” as former NOW-head Patricia Ireland
once put it. But alas, most women have a mind of their own. According
to marriage records in Massachusetts, the percentage of surname
keepers dropped from 23% in 1990 to 17% in 2000.

What’s more, a growing number of women’s organizations
have set out to counter the feminist agenda, including the Concerned
Women for America, Independent Women’s Forum, Women’s Freedom Network,
and the Clare Booth Luce Foundation. And several women’s websites
now feature anti-feminist commentary, such as ifeminists.net and
ladiesagainstfeminism.com.

But there are still a substantial number of
persons in our society who cling to the belief that feminism is
about promoting equality, fairness, and gender enlightenment.

So guest celebrity, our time is up. Which
face of feminism is real, and which is the impostor? Is feminism
about promoting equality of rights and responsibilities? Or does
it aim to foment gender discord and marital break-down?

The modern rendition of To Tell the Truth
is no mere game show. It’s not about a few hundred dollars in funny
money. It’s a real life drama that spells enormous consequences
for our culture, our families, and our children.

Carey Roberts is an analyst and commentator on
political correctness. His best-known work was an exposé on Marxism and
radical feminism. Mr. Roberts’ work has been cited on the Rush Limbaugh
show.

Besides serving as a regular contributor to NewsWithViews.com,
he has published in The Washington Times, LewRockwell.com, RenewAmerica.us,
ifeminists.net, Men’s News Daily, eco.freedom.org, The Federal Observer,
Opinion Editorials, and The Right Report.

Previously, he served on active duty in the Army,
was a professor of psychology, and was a citizen-lobbyist in the US Congress.
In his spare time he admires Norman Rockwell paintings, collects antiques,
and is an avid soccer fan. He now works as an independent researcher and
consultant.